X800XT w/ Zalman on K8N Neo2 w/ Zalman

toNka · Post by **toNka** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 11:30 pm

I have an MSI K8N Neo2 motherboard.
I replaced the NB HSF with a Zalman passive heatsink (see pic).

Looking at where the heatsink sits on my AIW9600 compared to the AGP interface and the NB heatsink, I would guess an AIWX800XT equiped with a Zalman HSF should be fine (see pic).

In my imagination it seems sound but if there is anyone out there with this setup it would help put to rest any doubts before i spend $300+ on a new GFX card.

~El~Jefe~ · Post by **~El~Jefe~** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 3:30 pm

well here is a TIP:

dont use ATI's fan and maybe the heatsink too if it's integrated!!!!

They are SICK noisy. wow like crazy noisy 9 billion rpm fans, i could swear the thing could slice meat for a deli. stock ati will be removed anyways is my suggestion.

now, what to put there that wont hit the zalman??

im not sure. need more angles, straight on pic from top and from table view so i can see heights. i always get ati and mod cases so i am used to figuring this out.

so far, id say as is, it wouldnt hit maybe touch a lil.

Mar. · Post by **Mar.** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 4:56 pm

You know, you can always cut a little away from the zalman.... Yes, it might be a bit of a hassle to get the heasink out of the case, but you may need to. Keep in mind that you will be reducing the total surface area of the heatsink, so try not to cut away too much if you do.

toNka · Post by **toNka** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 12:45 am

So let's say the Zalman cooler fits just fine on the GPU.
What does it sound like at 5v ~ 12v.
I'd assume that 5v should be fine as far as sound and cooling as long as you are not pushing the card.
12v seems like it would be loud, but I guess if you are playing games than it doesn't really matter, you'll hear the in-game sounds over the fan at 12v.
Does any one know if it can run games at 7v or maybe 10v?

toNka · Post by **toNka** » Thu Jul 28, 2005 7:08 am

Well, I got my ATi AIW X800XT.
It didn't fit.
I had to cut the top row of fins off the NB cooler so it could fit.
While I was at it, I bent all the other fins downward to give it extra room.
I might be getting that Zalman VGA cooler (VF-700 I think).
That will definately need more room.
Funny thing though.
I am well aware of how loud these VGA fans can be.
I was full prepaired to be offended by the screaming of some little 6,000rpm fan on the card.
Either these things are getting quieter, I'm losing my hearing, or I got some rare uber-quiet version.
I can barely hear this thing in my case.
If I put my ear up to my case, inch or two away, it is audible.
I run my Silent Boost and Nexus 120mm at 4v~5V.
If I bump either of them up to 7v I no longer hear my GFX card!
That means it is quieter than my Nexus 120mm @ 7v!
I might just stick with the stock cooler, as crazy as that sounds.
I double checked with my girlfriend, she can't hear it either.
I played HL2 with maxed out settings @ 1680x1050 for a couple hours.
Ran perfect, no heat issues, and quiet.
I'm at work now, so I'll have to post pictures/temps later.

fraggable · Post by **fraggable** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 4:59 am

I've got the same X800 XT AIW you just got and it is very quiet when it's not under load. If you get the fan to ramp up to full speed though, you will hear it to say the least. I think it runs about 2,000 - 2,500 RPM normally till you start stressing it. Last weekend I was messing with wiring on my case, and when I went ot turn it back on I had forgotten to plug my HDDs back in so the system just POSTed and sat there, and my X800 fan was running at full speed and it was NOT quiet. I plan on getting the Zalman 700 GPU HSF or the AS silencer 1 myself in the near future.

toNka · Post by **toNka** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 10:57 am

You are right fraggable.
I used ATiTool to run the fan at 100%... very loud.
I just didn't notice it when I was playing HL2 because of in game sounds.
At idle my fan runs 50%.
I'm playing around with 3D detection and underclocking.
I run the core at 250MHz in 2D and default (500MHz) in 3D.
I don't bother with ram clock, I leave it at 500MHz.
I'm thinking of getting the zalman cooler... we'll see.

toNka · Post by **toNka** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 1:12 am

Well, I made it fit.
If you are in the same boat as I was and want to see what I did to make it fit...
Check out this thread in the General Gallery Forum:

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto ... c&start=30